Term Three Week Six – Commencing Monday 19th August 2024

Dear Families,   

This week, we officially enter the second half of Term Three. Time certainly goes quickly during school term and this term is no different. There are many engaging learning experiences and community events to look forward to before the end of the term. As the weather heats up, we have it all in front of us!

We have also moved into the Nyoongar Season of Djilba. Djilba is one of the six Nyoongar seasons that takes place and falls during the months of August and September. During this season the bush comes alive with colour, the nights remain cold while the days start to heat up and we start to see lots of baby animals start to emerge after a cold and wet winter. It is a great time of year. 

First Holy Communion
This weekend is a very special celebration for the children in our parish who will be celebrating the Sacrament of First Holy Communion.  

All members of St. Emilie’s Catholic Primary School are invited as members of the parish to join in with this celebration across the course of the weekend. Mass times for First Holy Communion will take place on Saturday 17th August @ 6:00pm, Sunday 18th August @ 9:30am and 5:00pm. 

It would be great to have as much support as we can for the children in our parish. 

Feast of the Assumption
Wednesday morning was a beautiful occasion to mark The Feast of the Assumption. Our Year Six leaders led the community with grace and reverence during Mass and once again, our children displayed their understanding of time and place by ensuring they were respectful during Mass time. 

Thank you to Father Jean Noel for leading our community on this special occasion 

Science Week
Last week our school celebrated National Science Week! This year’s theme for National Science Week was ‘Species Survival’. 

National Science Week is an annual, nationwide celebration of Science, an area which contributes so much to our daily lives. The Learning Area of Science is highly valued here at St Emilie’s and our school is guided in all things Science by the amazing Mrs Soulsby. 

Mrs Soulsby arranged many exciting activities across the week including incursions, guest speakers and various challenges for the children to be involved in all of which have Science as a focus. 

We hope you enjoyed our Science Week takeover on the school’s Facebook page where we were able to showcase all of the amazing and engaging learning experiences our children were treated to this week. 

If you would like to know more about National Science Week, please visit https://www.scienceweek.net.au/ 

School Choir 
This Monday, our School Choir will represent the school at The Vasto Club in Balcatta. The boys and girls who are involved in the choir have prepared themselves beautifully and we look forward to this group of children representing our school to the best of their ability. 

We thank Mr Dabbs once again for his leadership of the St Emilie’s School Choir. Go well boys and girls. 

Striving for Work Life Balance at St Emilie’s and a Right To Disconnect 
The staff at St Emilie’s are a very dedicated and committed group of professionals. The staff at our school show the utmost diligence in providing for the children they care for each day. Recently, there have been some changes to the working conditions for teachers and their workloads outside of working hours. 

Below is some information that is important for you to know in relation to these new legislated changes for our teachers as part of their updated employment conditions. 

As has always been the case at St Emilie’s and is indicated in the Parent Handbook, unless a matter is urgent, it is reasonable to expect up to a 48-hour turnaround time in response to emails from school staff. In most cases, staff are unable to respond during the school day because they’re teaching for the majority of the time and have a legal duty of care over the children in their class.  

Staff also have the right to disconnect from 4.00pm each day until 8:15am the following day as per the new changes. Along with this, staff have the right to disconnect on weekends and won’t respond to any emails on Saturday or Sunday. Part-time staff are not required to respond to any form of communication on their non-working days.  

Underpinning this change is the acknowledgement that our staff at St Emilie’s have lives outside of school also. Many staff are parents, family members and friends to their loved ones and it is important that after work hours, they have the right to fulfil these roles without interruption in line with the expectations placed upon other professionals. 

At St Emilie’s, we are blessed to have such a supportive parent body and I know that you will continue to support our staff by keeping these changes in mind when communicating with them. 

Book Week Parade 
Week Seven is Literacy Week and this year, children from St Emilie’s are once again welcome to dress up as a character from their favourite book on Tuesday 27th August. This year, our children will be treating the community to a Book Week Parade on the morning and all parents and carers are encouraged to stay for a few minutes after drop off so that the children can show off their costumes. 

Parents and carers, Book Week dress ups do not have to be expensive! Where possible and as best you can, we encourage all children to try and create their costumes out of household goods! Get creative! The Book Week Parade promises to be a lot of fun! 

Performing Arts Assembly – Monday 16 September
A new date has been added to the Term Planner that I would like to draw your attention to. Please make note of Monday 16th September. On the morning of the 16th of September, our school will host a special Performing Arts Assembly to provide another forum for our children in performing arts to showcase their items. I encourage all community members to come and join the fun. 

Friday School Lunches
We are very pleased to share that Jamaica Blue in Livingston will now be providing lunches for children to order on Fridays if they wish. It has been a pleasure planning this opportunity with Jamaica Blue who are very excited to be partnering with the school. Further information on how to order school lunches can be found on the school website using this link https://stemiliescps.wa.edu.au/parents/school-lunch-orders/ 

Spirit of The Arts
The Spirit of the Arts festival is once again back in 2024. The Spirit of the Arts Festival brings together children from Catholic schools across the state to participate in an uplifting and inclusive celebration of the arts. 

St Emilie’s will once again be represented by our Choir, Christian Dance Troupe, Dance Troupe and Rock Band.
Venues, dates and times for the items still to come, can be found below: 

School Choir: Monday the 19th of August 10.45am to 11.45am Vasto Club, Balcatta 

Ticketing is via Try Booking. There will be no door sales. Tickets can be purchased from the 5th of July –
https://www.spiritofthearts.com.au/

Dance Troupe: Thursday 29th August 6.30pm to 9.30pm at Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre 

Tickets can be purchased from the 31st July. Ticketek on 132 849 or  https://premier.ticketek.com.au

Staff Profiles
Over the course of the year, we have been sharing Staff Profiles of staff from our school. This week, we share with you the Staff Profile of Ms Holly Brown who is the Year Two Gold Teacher here at St Emilie’s. 

Parent Circle
A reminder that Parent Circle is on this week on Thursday 22nd August in the Small Hall. All are welcome for a chat and a cuppa with other parents from our school.